


First Sighting

by SinfulAqua



Series: Bat Cryptids and Flowers [4]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Batitas, Cryptid Hunting, Cryptids, Gen, Haunted Houses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 15:04:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16600229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinfulAqua/pseuds/SinfulAqua
Summary: Terra and Ven (mostly Ven) go to investigate rumors about a monster at the old Twilight Town mansion. Ven thinks it'll be a great video for his channel online (and, okay, maybe a paper he could write for school) and wants to gather as much evidence as he can.He doesn't have any clue about the chain of events he's about to set in motion.Prequel to Midnight Dreary.





	First Sighting

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to have this done for Halloween, but kind of failed with that, BUT IT IS STILL HALLOWEEN IN MY HEART! So here you guys go, more Batitas!

 “Twilight Town, a place where myths and legends become reality. In a world of neverending twilight, I will-”

“Ven, what are you doing?”

Ven looked up from the camera, panning it over to Terra with a smile. “Just recording our outing for my channel! I haven’t done an episode on Twilight Town in full yet, or the old mansion! I swear, this will be the biggest find yet, uh, I think.”

Terra rolled his eyes at the explanation, but there was still a smile on his face.

“And what will we be finding at the mansion today then? What old urban legend are you following up on this time?” he asked, looking away from Ven and his camera so he could take a look around them. They were in the older part of Twilight Town, near the woods and old man Xehanort’s empty home.

And. . . an empty mansion.

Ven turned the camera to himself, trying his best to keep his hold steady as he addressed the (currently) nonexistent audience. “Today, we’re going to Twilight Town’s old mansion. Rumor has it that there are ghosts or ghouls roaming the mansion’s halls, but I’ve heard from some of my sources-”

“You mean your friends.”

Ven did his best to keep a straight face despite the interruption from Terra, though there was a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. No, he had to keep calm, he had to get this done in what could still be considered a single take. After all, he could redo this later if he wished, and maybe with a green screen.

“I’ve heard from some of my sources that a  _ creature  _ lives in that mansion. People had reported sightings of something going in and out of the windows on the upper floor, like some kind of. . . Of bat creature, or at least something that has a very large wingspan. Definitely not human, definitely not spectral, but one hundred percent unnatural.”

He turned the camera back towards the road they were on, taking a few decisive steps forward.

“So, tonight, my brother and I are going to head to the old mansion to investigate it. I’ll be setting up cameras and audio recorders to see what else I can capture as evidence, but we are here for the monster.”

He shut the camera off at that point, looking back over at Terra with a wide grin on his face. Even though he was still annoyed with his brother, he was at least glad that they got some kind of intro all done. Sure, there would still be bits he had to touch up, but hey, it was all going to work out in the end. He would do some touch up work back at his dorm when editing the video for his channel.

“You said we were going to get some food before we went to the old mansion, yeah?” Ven practically launched himself at Terra then, his brother nearly toppling over from his sudden weight.

“Ven, careful!”

“Burgers! And sea salt milkshakes! Then we’re going to be heading to the mansion, and we’re getting proof of that monster!” Ven said, his tone making it obvious that he wasn’t going to take a no for an answer. The boy had a plan and he was going to follow through with it, that’s for sure. Food, grabbing any other bits of equipment they would probably need, and then off to the mansion for the night!

“At least the storm doesn’t hit until tomorrow, otherwise I would be telling you that we’d have to put this off for another day.” Terra didn’t bother hiding his smile when he spoke, finding the sound of distress from Ven very amusing. “Oh, come on, you don’t actually think I’d be that cruel, yeah? Aqua would say no, but I’d probably still drive you up here so you don’t try and skate your way to town in the rain. Now, come on, let’s go get your food.”

***

“So, people say that this thing is a- hold on-” Ven was still talking even after they got their food and milkshakes, shoving another handful of fries into his mouth. Terra tried to not gawk, as he was used to Ven’s habit of shoveling everything into his mouth, but it was still a struggle to keep an entirely straight face.

“-a bat. But like, a giant bat, obviously. And nothing human about it. Very monster-esque. Fangs and big wings and claws. Y’know, the works.” He grabbed his milkshake to drink from it, nearly half of it already gone from before they even sat down. “But no one has gone into the mansion to actually  _ see  _ it. So, how do they know its a bat? It could be a-a wolf, and still have the fangs and claws, or maybe it's some kind of-”

“Ven.” Terra had to cut him off, even going so far as to hold up a hand so his little brother didn’t continue to ramble on and on with his only breaks being the chance to shove a fry or a bit of burger into his mouth. “A bat thing? With fangs and claws and giant wings?” He raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his seat. “Isn’t this the same  _ bat thing  _ that scared you when you ran off into the woods while we were playing hide and seek? When you were  _ six _ ?”

Ven was silent for a moment, his face turning red from embarrassment. He didn’t think Terra would remember the day he had suddenly run home and out of his hiding spot, pointing frantically to the woods near their old house and make the claim that a monster had nearly eaten him. Had he said it was a bat? He couldn’t remember. Had he really wandered that close to the old mansion, too? Well, that was possible, since their old house was a few roads away from it. The only things that really kept the two buildings apart was old man Xehanort’s empty place and the woods.

“. . . No, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he finally said, taking another bite of his burger.

Terra nodded, but the look on his face implied that he didn’t believe Ven’s denial. “Right, of course. It was clearly Aqua who made the mistake and claimed there was a bat monster in the woods, how could I forget?”

“Right, thank you! It was Aqua. I mean, how many times have we gotten her with horror based pranks again? Several! Anyway, not the point, sorry, I’m getting distracted. So, this bat thing, okay?”

Terra let Ven talk on and on until the both of them had their fill and had gathered their things back up. They had agreed to spend a few hours at the very least up at the old mansion, a full night at the most but only if they were able. While Ven was in full belief that  _ something  _ was up there, Terra was a bit more skeptical. Their hometown was so boring at times, and these stories people spread only made it sound amazing when it was anything but.

The city they lived in at the time was no better, either. Radiant Garden was just a college town, with very little actually fantastic, despite everything Ven was working to prove.

Maybe Terra should have had a little more belief in this though. Things probably would have gone much differently.

***

The mansion looked far creepier than either of them remembered. Run down, yes, but a few windows seemed to be smashed in now, and if they were to go around to the back, they might have found the door that lead from the wilted and weed covered garden to the house was torn from the hinges and barely hanging on.

Had they somehow forgotten how it looked while growing up? Or was it just because they were older that seeing it again after so long made it far more unnerving than it really was?

Ven turned on his camera, doing a sweep of the front of the house before taking a few hesitant steps forward. He directed it towards one of the windows that was still together, wondering if he could catch anything, even from just the outside.

“Alright. Let’s go in.”

Terra waited for Ven to walk up to the front door before following after him. The last time either of them had been here was maybe a week before Eraqus had up and moved them from Twilight Town to Radiant Garden. The boys and Aqua had tried to agree to stay the night, but there had been a storm coming in and the siblings were ill prepared.

Now here they were again, minus one sister, attempting that same thing but for completely different reasons.

“So far, the place looks the same as ever. Maybe a bit more run down than usual? It has been a while since either of us were here,” Ven said, practically speaking Terra’s own thoughts. He knew it was for the video, but he couldn’t shake the slight unnerved feeling her felt as his brother filled the silence around them.

It felt like something had its eyes on him, and that it wasn’t happy.

***

Ven wandered through the house, recording what he could as he poked his head in various rooms. The lower level was the same as always, but perhaps a bit messier than he remembered. Regardless, his search below left him with nothing, so he made his way upstairs, leaving Terra behind. His older brother could do whatever he wanted down here, it was fine.

One of the upstairs rooms that Ven found himself in was a child’s bedroom. He did a sweep of it with his camera, unable to keep himself from picturing Aqua freaking out in here.

“Still no evidence of a bat monster, but, there have been stories of a child dying here in this place. If no monsters are found, then. . . Perhaps a ghost or two?” God, he hoped so. He didn’t want to head back home empty handed after this trip.

He continued exploring around, unable to help the frustration he felt building up inside of him at the lack of, well, anything. No paranormal activity, supernatural, and certainly no bat monster. Maybe he had made it all up as a kid, and the people living in Twilight Town probably just made up a bunch of their own stories to keep interest going.

Ven sighed, turning down a dark hallway to see what else he could find. He went to turn on the night vision of his camera, only to find himself colliding with something in his path, sending him falling on his rear.

“Ow! Goddammit, Terra, if that’s you, then I swear that. . . Th-that. . .” Whoever or  _ whatever  _ he had just bumped into was certainly  _ not  _ Terra. He couldn’t even see what it was, and that alone was terrifying.

His hands shook as he stared up at the figure in the shadows, meeting only golden eyes for a brief moment. Ven carefully rose to his feet, turning on the night vision of his camera just in time to catch sight of. . . Wings?!

The creature then lunged forward, fangs bared and wings spread as it came at him.

Ven nearly dropped his camera as he turned to run, a scream ripping from him.

"TERRA!" They had to get out of here. They had to get out. What the hell even is that thing chasing him?! Here he had been, not even  _ seconds  _ ago thinking that there was nothing in this place. But no, there was a monster, there really was!

Like an idiot, Ven turned his camera back to try and catch more of the creature, but it stayed in the shadows and kept a distance. He didn’t even realize that, in his escape attempt, he must have flicked off night vision, plunging the capturing footage into a darker shade. Whatever evidence he had gathered was going to end up shaky, and the only relatively clear thing was something gold in the darkness.

“Go, Terra, go!”

“Wait, what are you-?  _ WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?! _ ” He stared at the thing that was chasing after his brother, frozen for a moment before remembering himself and turning around to run after the smaller boy. “Just book it, stop filming and book it!”

Evidence or not, Ven had no choice but to listen this time.

After all, he liked being alive.

***

They arrived back home hours later, and just in time to meet up with Aqua for their usual family brunch (sans Eraqus, who was living elsewhere now).

Ven waited with bated breath as Aqua watched the footage, her face a neutral mask. He watched as she raised an eyebrow before lowering it again, almost like she was analyzing the footage. But he had a good feeling she would believe him, he-

“Ven, I don’t see anything here,” she finally said, handing the camera back to him. “I’m sorry, but the entire thing is just a mess. If you did catch anything, I didn’t see it.”

“But, Aqua, we did see something, even  _ Terra  _ saw it! Right, Terra?” He turned to their brother then, waiting with bated breath to see if he would back him up on this. He had to have seen it, too. . . Right? He couldn’t have made this up. . .  _ Right? _

“Ven’s right. There  _ is  _ something in that old house, and we saw it. We ran from it. Why don’t you believe us?”

Aqua smiled, rolling her eyes at them as she grabbed her cup of coffee.

“We’re serious, Aqua!” Ven’s voice rose an octave, nearly drawing the attention of other customers in the restaurant. “We saw something there, we’re not lying!”

She set her cup back down after drinking the rest of it, looking at the both of them with an expression that could only convey her disbelief.

“I’m so used to you two pulling pranks on me that this  _ has  _ to be one. And with the both of you in on it? Yeah, no, sorry, I can’t believe a single thing here. Now, if you’ll both excuse me, Xigbar was saying something about a work meeting and-”

“Even if you don’t believe us, I dare you to stay the night in the old mansion! The whole night! No backing out of it, okay? Go up and there and you’ll see that we aren’t lying!”

A silence fell among them once Ven issued his challenge to their sister. The three of them seemed to be frozen in place, what felt like an endless amount of time passing before Aqua’s shoulders sagged, a sigh falling from her lips.

“Fine, you win.”

Ven blinked, looking between Terra and Aqua before finally letting his gaze land on Aqua again.

“I accept your dare. I’ll stay the night at the old mansion in Twilight Town’s woods.”   
  



End file.
